Tutu, Desmond Mpilo, 1931–2021, South African religious leader, b. Klerksdorp, Univ. of South Africa (1954); Kings College, London (B.Th., 1965; M.Th., 1966). Educated in South Africa and London and ordained in 1961, he became (1975) the first black Anglican dean of Johannesburg. As general secretary of the South African Council of Churches (1978–84) he was an outspoken campaigner against apartheid, and he was awarded (1984) the Nobel Peace Prize for his nonviolent advocacy of reform. In 1986 he became the first black to be elected archbishop of Cape Town (the Anglican primate of South Africa); he served in the post until 1996. Tutu remained active in South Africa's political affairs, at times criticizing the nation's postapartheid political leadership on a number of issues, and headed (1996–2003) the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which was responsible for investigating human-rights abuses during the apartheid era. Tutu also has been a critic of Zimbabwe's President Mugabe and of the reluctance of other African leaders to criticize Mugabe's repressive regime. Besides the Nobel Prize, Tutu was awarded over 100 honorary degrees, and many other honors, including the Templeton Prize (2013), and the British honors The Order of the Companions of Honors (2015) and the Baliff Grand Cross of the Venerable Order of St. John (2017).
See his Hope and Suffering: Sermons and Speeches (1983),No Future Without Forgiveness (1999), God Has a Dream: A Vision of Hope for Our Time (2004), The Book of Forgiving (2014, with his daughter, M. Tutu).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Southern African History: Biographies
